Dead Before Dying

'n Goeie speurverhaal, maar jene, dit het erg geraak om te lees dat alle mans vroue net sien as objekte met robuuste bolywe en stywe agterente wat net daar is om mee 'liefde te maak'. Ek weet dis net 'n boek en dalk aspris so geskryf om 'in karakter' te wees, maar nogsteeds...

Een wat ouder boek van Deon Meyer, uit 1996. Politiemannen Mat Joubert en Bennie Griessel, die in Meyers latere werk vaker terug zullen keren, doen hier hun intrede. Een seriemoordenaar lijkt willekeurige slachtoffers uit te kiezen rondom Kaapstad, en tegelijkertijd worden banken beroofd door een flirtende overvaller. Hebben deze zaken met elkaar te maken, en kunnen de rouwende Mat, en de alcoholist Griesel, die al genoeg demonen in hun hoofd hebben, genoeg concentratie opbrengen om deze zaken op te lossen. Zoals al het werk van Deon Meyer goed geschreven, spannend, en zeker beter dan de gemiddelde crimi. Wel vond ik dit boek erg erg vrouwonvriendelijk; de vrouwen die in het boek voorkomen zijn vooral willoos materiaal om mee van bil te show more gaan. Daar begon ik mij op zeker moment wat aan te ergeren. show less

Deon Meyer was recommended to me by a friend. Detective stories aren't my usual fare.
I loved how South African the book is, but the story was even better.

It features Mat Joubert from Murder and Robbery trying to get over the death of his wife while having to solve a (possible?) serial killer and a (possible? - going to leave you guessing) serial bank robber.
For me, this was unlike the typical CSI / Law and Order where you know within the first five minutes who the murderer is. But when the pieces started falling together, the story and the motive was revealed without having to read the last chapter.

Very well written.

It was my first Meyer's but definitely not my last one. The story is taking place in Cape Town with all its problems as violence, difficulties of racism, politic etc.. M.A.T. Joubert working as a Captain at the Murder and Robbery department is the main character. He struggles with the murder of his wife as well with his smoking habit, his bad shape and his heaviness. With his team he has to solve a series of murders and in a side show to stop a series of bank hold-up. He has got some good colleagues which are helping him. I've got familiar very quickly with all the protagonists and liked their character as well. It's a fast-paced and gripping reading and kept me guessing until the very last page.

This book took awhile to get going but I'm glad that I stuck with it. It's more than just a mystery. The book central character's personal and professional life is the central focus, the mystery is secondary. The African setting is interesting. It gave me a glimpse into a culture that I know very little about. I look forward to reading Deon Meyer's next book.

Mat Joubert has a lot of troubles. The mid-30's Capetown police captain has been a widower for two years, following the on-duty murder of his undercover police wife - and he still has difficulties dealing with the void in his life. Mat has a new boss who makes it clear that he wants a fit team, and before he knows it Mat has visits scheduled with a physician, dietician and psychologist. His good friend Benny has problems with the bottle and Mat questions his own manhood since he has been out of practice ever since......Then there is the serial killer on the loose using a rather distinctive handgun more than 100 years old. Is this random, or is there a tie that unites all the victims. Oh, and there's the bank robber with all the odd show more disguises. As you might imagine the story is fast paced and continues to switch between Mat's job and his personal issues - but both are deliciously intertwined. This is Deon Meyer's first book, written in the late 1990's. It is a stand-alone of sorts since there isn't a Joubert #2 but other characters such as Benny reappear in future books. I'm a big fan of Meyer and I had the impression that his first books weren't quite as good as the current ones, but in my book (pun) if there are quality differences, they are small. I thought the ending of this one could have been a bit better and a tad less obvious but I still rated this 4.5 stars. My biggest disappointment is nothaving another Mat book. show less

My recent introduction to South African Deon Meyer was his newest crime novel (Trackers), and second up was this, his debut novel 'Dead before Dying' (published in the 1990s). A police procedural, I thought it just ok for a debut novel; not as good as Trackers, the ending was too much of a coincidence and somewhat unbelievable, and I didn't see much point to the bank robbery story. The characters and interactions were a positive though. Based more on what I thought of Trackers, I will read another.